


Here Be Monsters

by Cupcakemolotov



Series: Dance with the Devil [9]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-09-03 12:03:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8713102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cupcakemolotov/pseuds/Cupcakemolotov
Summary: After her murder, Caroline leaves Mystic Falls. A hundred years later, there are unusual vampires popping up around the world, with strange yellow eyes and deadly bites.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is for willowaus, who started the conversation that prompted this. And for goldcaught, because that was just unnecessary. And thanks to livingdeadblondequeen for the beta, since Sophie needs sleep like a normal person… There is a little bit of angst to start, but then there is porn. So!

Caroline knew predators.

They slid beneath the skin, darkened the eyes with malady and thirst, left your throat dry for that metallic rush. Humans called them monsters, the horror that walked among them. A hundred years, and she'd come to terms with her choices.

Monsters didn't need need fangs to be monstrous. Horrors weren't always nightmares dripping blood, licking up fear and adrenaline like wine. Sometimes they were just people. People who carried flesh and bone, blunt human teeth and were so determined that were right they couldn't bend.

When she was seventeen, her best friend's face killed her. Frightened, horrified by the new creature beneath her skin - with memories of a pretty face and beautiful lies, terror and shame - and ran to the only safe haven she'd known.

_Mom._

_Mommy._

_Please._

Caroline thought that some things stayed with you through eternity. The rejection, the utter and absolute repudiation of a parent. The first, desperate mouthful of your first kill - a beggar, as cold and lost as she - and the realization that seventeen years prepared you for being completely alone not at all.

Liz didn't want her.

Her dad hunted her.

Was that really her first sin? Choosing life? Fighting with a predator's desire to live, until something broke open underneath the sunlight and torture, until the Caroline who left behind her father's corpse held iron in her bones. She wasn't prey, not anymore. You didn't take a creature born of nature, and she couldn't tame the graveyard of her bones.

But there were always more predators. So she learned the ropes through trial and error, sidestepped the bigger supernatural cities and spread her wings. She found a daylight ring in Rome, taught herself to hunt in the winding streets of Paris, and learned to accept herself in the bitterness of a Russian winter.

She embraced the vampire, standing in an endless winter, blood caked to boots; snowflakes glittering in her ruined curls. Maybe someone else would have chosen different, but Caroline had learned something about herself that frozen night.

She refused to bend.

Not anymore.

She hadn't.

 

The club in Shanghai was packed, but sweat and booze, the lingering scent of tobacco in the hot air couldn't quite hide the familiar hint of vampire. Curiosity curled down her spine, monster sliding along her skin and she let it linger, danger prickling.

The old vampires, they disliked these scenes. She roamed them because she was strong enough to defend herself, pretty enough she didn't need compulsion. No one expected her to be dangerous, and she let them chase her until she caught them, fangs and claws digging deep.

But this scent was old. Older than those few truly ancient nightmares she glimpsed in Rome, in Paris. Another reason to chase newer cities, places without a known territory.

Letting go of the boy she was nibbling on, Caroline headed for the bar. Leaving would probably be a safer course, but she'd stopped taking that road ages ago. Accepting her Bloody Mary was a smile, she turned and her gaze collided with a familiar face. Sighing heavily, she took a sip of blood and vodka.

"You were supposed to leave."

Caroline gave the hybrid in front of her a flat stare. She wasn't sure when this particular mixed breed had started to show up, just that they were really annoying. None of the few she'd met were old, but all of them liked to hunt her. They were creeping into the places she loved most and she was getting tired of it.

"I don't remember getting an eviction notice," Caroline told him coolly. If he was with his friends, she'd be in a bit of trouble, but this establishment had a very firm no fighting rule. She'd have enough of a head start to slip away.

"You killed Gregory," he snapped, stepping into her personal bubble and her eyes went black in warning.

"Gregory should have listened when I told him to keep his hand off my ass," Caroline returned, keeping her weight on her toes. "He wouldn't have lost his heart if he hadn't tried to bite me."

"Well, sweetheart, I can hardly blame him," the accented, rumble of a voice moved across her skin like a caress. "But ruining my toys doesn't generally end well for others."

The hybrid shifted back, chin drooping with lowered eyes and Caroline shifted so she could see who the new player was while watching his apparent lapdog. Her stomach jumped, nerves hypersensitive as she took in the man watching her with curious eyes. Rumpled curls, curling lips and dimpled, he was the fantasy she'd never had.

"You've terrible taste if that's the best you can find," the words tripped along her tongue before she could hold them in. She arched a brow at his arch look, ignored the snarl near her elbow.

The baby hybrid wasn't the threat.

"It's been suggested," he smiled suddenly, dimples deep. "Let me buy you a drink to make up for it."

She snorted. "No thanks."

Iron flickered behind his gaze, followed by amusement. When he spoke, his voice was soft. "No?"

She tossed her curls, met those feral eyes. "I make a point not to accept drinks from vampires I can't eat. And I don't particular care for hybrids - they slobber. Thanks, but no thanks."

He blinked and she stepped around his toy, slipped back into the crowd. Ignored the gaze burning a line down her spine. Glancing from behind her hair, she wondered who he was.

* * *

Caroline rolled her shoulder, wincing at the burn. Glancing at the long gash, she felt a rush of relief that the wound was red and white, the tell all black of venom missing. She'd come across a vampire dying from a werewolf bite before, it looked like an awful way to go. Looking down at the hybrid, she dropped his heart and kicked him with a growl.

"That looks painful."

Caroline twisted and glared at the hybrid watching her. She lifted her bloody hand and pointed at him. "If this was your idea of a joke, I'm not amused."

Another of those flickering, thoughtful glances. "This is the third of my hybrids you've killed, little vampire."

Something about the calmness, the careful containment of his words left her wary. His mouth curved as he read it in her face and she shrugged, trying not to wince.

"Your hybrids see to be infected with terminal idiocy. And why three?"

"You don't strike me as the type to take slobber well," he murmured as he motioned to her shoulder. Knowing full well that she'd no chance to overpower him, she let him examine her healing arm. "He should have been able to overpower you."

"So a test then?"

"I was curious when he disappeared shortly after you finished your snack on the dance floor." Her skin tingled where he touched her, his fingertips surprisingly careful. "If I wanted you dead, little vampire, I'd kill you myself."

Alarm raced down her spine, but she rolled her eyes. "You're dating yourself."

"Oh?"

"Hmm, but since you come across as old as dirt, I suppose that's expected." She stepped away from his hands, scowled when he caught her wrist.

"Look, if your hybrids would stop bothering me, I wouldn't have to kill them. I certainly would prefer to avoid being bit."

Another laughing glance as he brought her hand to his mouth and licked a line up her bloody palm. Breath hitching in her lungs, her lips parted on an inhale as he sucked the tips of her fingers clean, eyes bleeding gold.

"Murder suits you." Her lashes fluttered as he scrapped teeth along the underside of her wrist. "Let me make it up to you."

She narrowed her gaze and tilted her head. There was no point in denying the affect he had on her libido, not out here where it was just the two of them. Not when he hadn't bothered to mask his arousal." I don't know. Do you slobber?"

A huff against her skin and then he pulled her smoothly against his chest, mouth fitting along hers. His kiss was lazy, his mouth stained with blood and expensive whiskey. She parted her lips, licked her tongue against his, hummed as he courted her mouth. She forgot about her shoulder, fisted her hands in his curls and moaned as his hand cupped her ass.

"I should practice," he murmured, voice rough with arousal as he feathered his lips against jaw, nipped at her ear. "How do you feel about multiple orgasms, sweetheart?"

Caroline dug her nails into his scalp, dragged her hands deliberately rough down to his neck. Watched the veins crawl into those yellow eyes and and made a little noise in her throat.

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

"You'll find, love, that I make very few promises," he dragged his thumb across her lower lip. "But I always keep them."

* * *

Klaus closed his phone with a snap, eyes narrowed as he considered the vital information that Elijah had felt necessary to wake up for. He'd been less than pleased to untangle himself from the vicious little predator he'd ruined his sheets with, had paused to admire the gold of her hair against his pillows. She was an interesting puzzle, this young irreverent vampire. She was clever enough to kill his hybrids, but clearly had no idea of his identity.

It was a puzzle.

He'd been unexpectedly charmed by the grumbling, grumpy noises as she'd buried herself under his pillow. He wasn't one for morning afters, rarely shared his bed for an extended period of time; yet, he'd found himself unable to remove her post-sex, amused by the way she sprawled into his space rather than annoyed.

Elijah had been right to call, but that didn't cool his ire. Elena had passed in her sleep. Thankfully they were able to drain the body, adding to the store of doppelganger blood he'd collected over the years. It'd be a few centuries before he located with the next Salvatore or Petrova Doppelganger.

His gaze flicked to the door separating him from his bedroom and he decided to deal with everything else later. The little vampire in his bed owed him a name. He was curious if she'd wake grumpy with his tongue between her thighs. Sliding back from his desk, he moved on silent feet into the bedroom and scowled.

His bed was empty.

Only the lingering scent of her arousal and perfume remained to show that she'd even been there.

Well, _well_.

* * *

Caroline dropped her paperback in boredom, sighed heavily. The latest wave of paranormal romances left a lot to be desired with both it and smut. The one thing you never considered as you aged.

Your favorite authors were going to die.

Sliding to her feet, she grabbed her bag and adjusted her sunglasses. The resort was beautiful, Greece was amazing but she was bored. Taking a lungful of ocean air, eyes popped open in surprise. Turning her head, she blinked rapidly at the sight of the man who was watching her from behind a pair of dark glasses.

That was a surprise.

She had to give him credit though, that was the best one night stand of her life. The things he could do with his tongue…

Caroline wondered what he was doing here of all places. She'd made a rather pointed effort to avoid any and all hybrids, shifting to fewer clubs and more remote escapes over the past decade. The little return to nature had done her some good, but there was really only so many trees a girl could look at. Worse, was the random sex wasn't nearly as fun when compared to the sheet tearing she'd enjoyed with the nameless, older hybrid.

Waving when it was clear he was staring at her, she set off for her room. There was no way she was approaching him, even a decade after their little tryst,she really preferred to avoid those awkward hellos. It was why she'd snuck out - barefooted, her skirt ripped but salvageable, a stolen shirt hanging off one shoulder.

"Running away again? I thought better of you, sweetheart. I remember a little more bite."

Caroline turned and blinked at him. "Hi."

His mouth curved, dimples barely there. "That's all I get? After multiple screaming orgasms and your disappearance?"

"Well, I figured you being ancient and old fashioned, that I'd save us both the trouble of that awkward post-coital morning after talk," she shrugged. "Seemed to have worked out."

He reached out, wound a curl around his finger. "I hadn't had my fill yet of grumpy baby vampire. I've found the awkwardness is greatly reduced with my tongue on your clit; I was most interested in finding out how best to turn you from languid and sated to a screaming, desperate wreck. If I'd wanted you to leave, I'd have made it clear."

Caroline blinked. "Well, opportunities lost and all."

He chuckled, sliding his hand to her neck. "And yet, here you are."

"Let's call it coincidence and move on," Caroline suggested.

"Let's," he agreed before pressing his lips to her clavicle. Her breath hitched hands sliding to his waist as he licked along her skin, lingering at her throat in a way that curled her toes. For a moment she considered pushing him back, ignoring the immediate and desperate ache between her thighs as fangs brushed her skin.

She could do a vacation fling.

She'd slip away if necessary. He didn't chase her previously. She couldn't imagine he would this time. Old vampires were strange, and she always had a plan or two for an exit strategy.

"I'm not having public sex," Caroline warned him and he laughed against her skin. In an instant, he had swung her into his arms and she blinked at him. "Really?"

"Hmmm," he agreed, the noise low and rough in his chest. She couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up as he flashed them to a room, giving in when he dropped her onto a bed. She smiled at him, ignoring the way his eyes darkened as she looked at him.

"So impatient," she teased, falling back onto the mattress, her dimples creasing her cheeks. "Let's see if dementia has set in or if you remember your way around a girl's orgasm."

Those blond tipped lashes hooded his gaze, and he peeled his shirt off with little dimpled smirk. "You're going to regret that challenge, love. I'm inclined to make you beg."

She kicked off her sandals but otherwise remained completely clothed, let her eyes tease as he feathered his hands against her calves.

"Promises."

"I believe I've already warned you once," he said as he hoisted her ass into the air, letting her calves hook over his shoulder. "I don't believe you deserve a second."

Caroline's breath hitched as the skirt of bright little sundress settled around her stomach. The pale pink of her lace panties were the only barrier as he cupped her ass, fingers digging lightly before his head bent and he ghosted his breath against her thighs.

His tongue flicked against one thigh, teeth a sharp sting and her muscles jerked against his hold. Her fingers fisted in the bed-cover as he skated his lips across her, the faintest brush of tongue against her clit before he sucked hard on the other thigh. He repeated the lazy back and forth until she was more than damp, squirming uselessly against his hold.

Without warning, he pressed his mouth against her, licked along the damp fabric with rough strokes of his tongue and she groaned. Her voice caught as he sucked on her clit, tongue leaving the fabric even wetter when he pulled back as she tried to ride his mouth. A devil's smile place, he licked his lips.

"Did you want something, sweetheart?"

"You're being an ass."

He clicked his tongue, massaged her ass. "Come now, that's hardly polite. Here I am, trying to remember my way around your preferences, and you're being rude."

Her gaze was hardly impressed as she looked at him. "Try harder."

The curling innocence of his smile had her rolling her eyes and he nudged her clit with his chin, scruff an unexpected sensation and she shuddered.

"Would you like me to tear this pretty lace from your skin, love?" His voice was a rumble of sound, hands brushing on her ass. "Slid my tongue inside you, suck your clit until you come?"

Her stomach flipped. "Yes."

Another slow stroke of his beard and he grinned. "Yes, what?"

She cursed under her breath and he waited. "I'd like you to use your tongue to make me come. Please."

"I'm not sure you meant that."

Before she could protest he flipped her, so that she was on her knees, hands scrambling for purchase. She'd reared up, a snarl in her throat when he pressed against her spine, erection hard against her ass.

His hand pressed into her abdomen and she went still. "Maybe you should show me what you like."

"What?"

He tugged one hand, forced her to depend on him to help balance her weight and pressed her fingers to her wet panties. She turned her head and met his hot stare with her own.

"I'm hardly intimidated by a little masturbation."

He kissed her, all teeth and tongue. "My apologies love, but in my old age I need a few reminders."

She rolled her eyes, slipped her fingers just inside the lace. "You can't see from this angle."

"I don't need to watch your hand, the glide of your fingers," he murmured. "I just need to listen - those little wet strokes, the rapid beat of your pulse, and the hitch in your lungs."

She shuddered, circled her clit with a fingertip, delved lower to coat her fingers before sliding back up. His eyes never left her profile as she caught her lip between her teeth. He kissed her shoulder, hummed his encouragement as her head fell forward, wet fingertips gliding in practiced circles.

The first, curling flare of heat and he pulled her hand free. Caroline snarled at him, eyes turning black even as he sucked her fingers into mouth. She twisted, went to wrap a thigh around his waist when he kissed her. It was nearly brutal, mouths harsh as a hand tugged her panties free and then she was flat again.

"I swear to god," she started, aroused and frustrated, unwilling to play a doll. He cut her off his with mouth, sucking hard on her clit. She nearly orgasmed from that one on delicious pull, shook at the softest stroke of his tongue. Arching, hands ripping the sheets, she whined loudly as he delved lower, ignored her attempt to clamp down with her thighs. He lapped at her, until she wasn't so shaky, then returned to her clit until she was _so close_.

"Oh god, please," Caroline gasped after that third, torturous near-orgasm. "Please, please, _please_."

The softest kiss against her clit; a pleased little hum and then broad and wet, he licked at her clit, the angle and pressure tipping her over the edge. Her heels dug sharply into his back, spine arching as she came. Without warning, he sucked her clit into his mouth and she clawed at the sheets as her orgasm kept going, nearly painful in its intensity.

She just started to come down when he flipped her again. Caroline snarled into the bed, tried to get the muscle coordination to glare at him but the sound of clothing being shucked was followed by his hot lips at the base of her spine.

"Such a fierce predator," he whispered before lifting her hips and pressing the head of his cock inside her. Still sensitive, she shook through each slow inch, her dress clinging uncomfortably to the fabric between her breasts, at her shoulder blades. He made a pleased little noise as he stilled before pulling out and pushing back in. He kept each stroke slow until she pushed back.

She yelped at the sudden, sharp thrust. He didn't slow, kept the pace hard, one hand slipping beneath her to stroke her straight into another orgasm. She screamed, clamping down hard as he followed her shortly, his orgasm hot inside her.

They laid there for long moments, before he finally lifted his head. "When are you going to tell me your name?"

"When you make it worth my while," she grumbled, and he laughed.

"You just can't help yourself, can you, love?" He kissed what skin he could reach, smiled when she hummed. "Just have to bait the monster."

"Just being honest," she wiggled until he let her up, pulled her dress off and tossed it aside. "Don't be possessive, this is just a fling."

His eyes narrowed and the challenge their startled her. "Two challenges? Even vampires can have difficulty walking."

He was right, she couldn't help herself. Smiling up at him, she brushed her fingers through his beard. "So you say."

* * *

Klaus opened his eyes when something tightened around his wrists. Snarling, he jerked but the headboard and ropes held. He stared at that defiant little face, the stubborn tilt of her chin and was torn between wrenching his arms loose to strangle her and throwing her back onto the bed and teaching her to beg again.

"Sweetheart," he ground out. "This is a supremely stupid decision."

"Look, the sex? It's great. But I don't even know your name and no, I don't want it. Let's just bygones be bygones, okay? I got those ropes from a friend, they'll break in about six hours." She scowled at him when he bared his teeth. "Hey, you're the one who went all possessive."

"You just had them lying around?" Klaus bit out, words little more than a snarl.

She shook out her dress, eyed him. "I like to be prepared. I mean, I wasn't expecting you per se, but I have my drinking rules for a reason. Some of you assholes tend to get possessive or like having little collections."

Klaus stopped glaring, let his muscles relax as he absorbed her words, the flicker of defiance behind her eyes. He found himself enraged for reasons that had nothing to do with being outsmarted a second time, the possession she dismissed a hot ball in his chest.

"Walking out that door isn't going to be a wise decision, sweetheart."

"Staying would be a lot stupider. I don't like bullies." She held up her finger, pointed at him. "I told you I don't like after sex conversations."

"You liked me just fine an hour ago."

"I liked your tongue, thanks for the follow up on grown ass hybrids not drooling. But seriously, don't follow me." She picked up her bag and stared at him.

Klaus leaned back and shook his head. "You're going to regret this."

"Um, no."

"Next time," Klaus murmured softly. "I'm going to wreck you, until moving is a distant ideal, until your bones melt into my bed."

"There won't be a next time."

"Until then, little love."

Her lips compressed, verbally restraining the comment he knew was on the tip of her tongue. Then she turned on her heel and left, hips swaying beneath her bright sundress. Oh no. There would be a next time. And it was going to be the last time she walked away from him.

Twisting his wrists, he let the ropes rub them raw, the scent of his blood hot in the room. It took far too long for his blood to nullify the magic, and he knew she was gone. Holding the ropes in his hand Klaus smiled.

This time, he had a starting point.

He'd get his name.

Then he go pay a visit to a few of the older vampires who liked their collections. See which one thought adding the golden haired predator that belonged to him to their set. Then he'd start his hunt in earnest.

* * *

He stepped inside the mansion that had been converted to a training ground for his Hybrids. Brazil wasn't his favorite part of the world, which worked well enough. Less chance of them ruining things.

He'd gotten a text from Kol letting him know they'd rounded up the last of the Vampires made in Mystic Falls. Between the Salvatore's and dear deceased Katerina, he was determined to remove the last of those connected to his past. He had no intention of the truth of the doppelgangers to live anywhere except among his siblings.

This particular vampire had gotten bitten, and while he'd normally let it die, his understanding was the vampire was refusing to cooperate. He needed to know what was known and who'd been told before the usual, painful death.

Tucking his phone away, Klaus headed to the last cage and froze. She was curled on her side, filthy curls falling over her face; her breathing labored from the wolf venom. He knew the lines of her face, that specific shade of golden hair.

His missing little predator.

His report said she'd killed four of his hybrids.

His sunshine monster with her wicked tongue and crafty brain was created in Mystic Falls. He'd seen no sign of her when he completed the ritual, although he did vaguely recall Katerina cursing a replacement…

Caroline Forbes.

For a moment, he considered leaving her. She wound too tightly in his chest after two encounters, had left him hunting for two decades. What would a century give her?

"Sweetheart, we really must discuss your attraction to trouble," Klaus murmured as he ripped the cell open, knelt next to her on the floor. Her lashes fluttered and she blinked unfocused eyes.

"I'm dying," she murmured, "and I'm stuck with you?"

"Come now Caroline," Klaus murmured, lifting her into his lap. "You can't escape me quite so easily as death."

She grunted, shuddered with fever. Her fingers curled in his shirt and he bit into his wrist.

"This one isn't my fault," She told him, voice fading. "You're the only one I'm mean too."

"Shh," Klaus soothed, offering his bloody wrist. "This will make you feel better and I've a promise to keep."

She drank heavily before he tugged his wrist free. Standing, he cradled her close as she grumbled against his skin, breath evening out against his throat. He took her upstairs, settled her into a bed until he'd finished dealing with his hybrids.

* * *

Caroline woke naked, the stink of the cells still on her skin. For a moment, she wondered why she was still alive. She had some pretty crazy hallucinations and she could have sworn that her really hot hookup had shown up and given her blood.

She was probably dead.

But the witches always said death was boring and she heard a tub. Sitting up, her breath caught at the understated opulence of the room, the gorgeous views outside. Licking her lips, she was startled to find the horrible thirst that has wracked her for days was gone.

"Feeling better, love?"

Caroline turned her head and blinked. She scrunched her nose. "Well, there goes the dead theory. Even I'm not so unlucky to die and then be stuck with you."

He shook his head. "Interested in a bath?"

"You're being nice to me," she said suspiciously. "Why?"

"The bath, Caroline," he smiled at her when she jumped in surprise at her name. "We have a few things to discuss and someone needs to change those sheets."

She huffed. There was no point in pretending modesty. "I'm not getting into the tub stinking like… whatever this smell is if that alright with you?"

"Shampoo and conditioner are in the shower."

She moved quick, because she really wanted to know what the hell was going on. She just slipped into the hot water of the over-sized tub when Klaus walked in, two glasses and a bottle of champagne in his hand.

"Are we sure I'm not dead?"

Amused eyes, glittering as he sat everything down on a small table. "Why?"

"You're being romantic and I'm pretty sure it might be a sign of the apocalypse," Caroline said warily.

"You wouldn't know, since you insist on running," he told her before he started to strip. Caroline let herself admire the clean lines of him and sighed.

"Minor details," she dismissed. "I suppose you're not inclined to tell me your name since you somehow got mine."

He finished pouring the flutes and smiled, his gaze bright. "Klaus."

She almost slipped under the water. Glaring at his laughter, she scowled. Accepted the champagne and downed half of it. "Bloody hell."

"So you have heard of me," Klaus mused as he settled on the opposite side of the tub, watching her with predator's eyes. "You're such a recluse, I wasn't certain."

"You're fishing," she accused, scowling. "And I'm not a recluse, I'm just selective."

"Sweetheart, finding someone in this digital age isn't difficult. Yet, each time I find you, you've slipped through my fingers and have avoided all of my networks."

Caroline sighed and sipped her drink. "Self-preservation, honestly, why would I want to play vampire politics? I was turned as collateral damage and I took that lesson to heart."

"What lesson was that?" He asked, head tilted in genuine curiosity.

"Don't be prey."

"Who turned you, Caroline?"

She arched both brows. "First, stop that. Second, why is this important?"

A little smirk, but he sobered. "Because my hybrids were hunting the last of the vampires made in Mystic Falls."

She sat her glass on the edge of the tub, stared at him. "You were involved in whatever happened to Elena."

His eyes went flat. "Yes."

"How long did it take Damon to die?" She asked, eyes curious. "Stefan never actually managed to articulate that to me. He was missing his tongue at the time, so that might have been part of it."

"Damon turned you?" His voice went soft, dangerous in a way that ran down her spine.

"No," she shrugged. "I thought Elena did, but Stefan was trying to tell me something about doppelgangers that I didn't much care about. Why?"

Klaus set his glass down, studied her defiant eyes. "Because I intend to lay the world at your feet, and I dislike surprises. The hybrids who bit you are dead, and your past is dangerous."

"I don't need you to give me anything," Caroline told him firmly. "When I was seventeen I was killed, changed, abandoned and hunted by those I loved. I don't need you."

"Yet," Klaus pointed out in amusement, "you weren't surprised to hallucinate me. Just disgruntled."

She stepped out if the tub and reached for a towel. Wet hands caught hers, turned her to face him as they dripped onto the rug. "Do you want me Caroline?"

"You're a lot more complicated than the guy who randomly showed up to dole out orgasms," she muttered stubbornly. "I hate politics"

He pushed away her wet hair, cupped her face. "You can eat any of them."

She rolled her eyes, tried not to smile. She glanced up at him, teeth rolling her lip. "You saved me from the werewolf poison."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I considered letting you die, I watched you heave for air." His gaze narrowed, turned contemplative. "But the most fun, the most interesting my life has been the century since I broke my curse involved you. You're clever and vicious, crafty enough to survive against the odds. I want you in my life."

She pursed her lips. "You're disgustingly romantic."

He shrugged. "I can bring you a few beating hearts if you prefer."

"Maybe for Valentine's," she decided as she curled her arms around his neck, pressed her breasts against his chest with a sigh. "Do not be cliche - you're a dinosaur, not an idiot."

He nipped her lower lip, licked the sting until she leaned into him. "Is that a yes?"

Caroline dragged her hand up into his wet curls, watched him shiver at the sting of her nails. "As long as you make it worth my while."

His gaze went nearly black, gold crawling along his iris. "You really don't learn."

She bit his lip until he bled. Licked up the blood with a little purr. "You're so cute when you're riled."

She started laughing when he hoisted her up, stomach pressing against his shoulder and didn't stop until he flung her onto the bed and sealed his mouth over hers.

* * *

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